A 13-year-old student from Oregon has designed a device that could help farmers produce water directly from the air, offering a potential solution to growing water shortages in agriculture. Roy Kim, a student at Whitford Middle School in Beaverton, created a chamber that captures moisture from the atmosphere and converts it into water for irrigation, according to a report by Young Scientist Lab.
His innovation has earned him a place among the top 10 national finalists of the 2026 3M Young Scientist Challenge. The 3M Young Scientist Challenge, organised by 3M and Discovery Education, is open to students in Grades 5 to 8 across the US. The competition encourages participants to use science and engineering to solve real-world problems.
Kim said he entered the 3M Young Scientist Challenge to bring attention to the issue of water scarcity and highlight a possible solution. "I wanted to showcase my invention to people around the world. If more people are aware of this problem and the potential solution, the problem might be able to de-escalate," he told Young Scientist Lab.
Kim's invention has earned him a place among the top 10 national finalists of the 2026 3M Young Scientist Challenge.
Photo Credit: Young Scientist Lab
He also plans to pursue engineering in the future, with a focus on developing environmental solutions to challenges such as water scarcity and climate change.
ALSO READ: Prince Harry And Meghan Slam Elon Musk's xAI Over AI Deepfake Features, Raise Safety Concerns
How does his innovation work?
The device uses a Peltier module, which creates a temperature difference when electricity is applied. One side of the module becomes hot while the other turns cold, causing moisture in warm air to condense into water droplets.
Photo Credit: Young Scientist Lab
Air enters the chamber and is first warmed before a fan directs it toward the cooled surface. The condensed water is then collected through a funnel and delivered to plants using a valve.
Photo Credit: Young Scientist Lab
The system is also equipped with soil moisture, temperature and humidity sensors. These sensors automatically regulate airflow and determine when plants need watering, helping reduce unnecessary water use.
Photo Credit: Young Scientist Lab
During testing, the prototype produced 10 millilitres of water over two hours and achieved a peak efficiency of 135.8 grams per kilowatt-hour.
Farmers in many regions continue to rely on rainfall, groundwater and rivers for irrigation, but climate change has made these sources increasingly unpredictable. With declining freshwater resources emerging as one of agriculture's biggest challenges, Kim hopes his invention can help address the issue. He also hopes it will encourage the wider adoption of sustainable farming technologies.
ALSO READ: China To Overtake US In AI Faster Than Expected? Hugging Face CEO Points To Open-Weight Models
Essential Business Intelligence, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice, Daily Fuel, Gold and Silver Prices and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.
